1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, in general relates to window coverings and, more particularly, to devices that attach to confinement-cell windows.
People may be confined for many reasons. They may be held in many different types of locations. Sometimes a person may be placed in a local, county, or Federal jail or prison cell, when such is warranted.
Whether a person was recently arrested, or has long been incarcerated, there is an unknown element regarding their behavior while they are confined. For example, they may fabricate a weapon, such as a stabbing instrument, from something in their cell.
They may be alone or they may share cell space with another person. They may pose a risk to themselves or to the other person. They may have acute mental illness that can flare at any time. They may be in an altered state of consciousness as can be induced from consuming any of a wide variety of drugs during which they behave inappropriately.
It is the responsibility of those who work at such establishments (police, sheriff, deputies, agents, etc.) to ensure the safety of the prisoner and also of other inmates who may be sharing the same cell space. When inappropriate behavior is believed to be occurring in a cell, those who work in such places must verify if this is indeed happening and then take necessary steps to ensure the safety of the prisoner and of the other inmates. They must do this using the least amount of force that is required. To do otherwise invites potentially expensive lawsuits.
Each cell typically has a small window attached to a steel door leading into the cell. When a particular person or persons in a cell is believed to be likely to cause problem behavior, the window is typically covered (with an opaque covering) that is taped to the window at the exterior of the door. This is to prevent the inmate from knowing when a "team" of workers are about to enter into the cell.
Where there are cells holding people in confinement it is inevitable that emergency entry into the cells will occasionally be required. Most jails have teams of people ready to quickly enter into a cell. A common name for such types of teams is "Custody Emergency Response Team" or the acronym "CERT".
The CERT team (hereinafter "team") would typically enter the cell and subdue the inmate. If the inmate is under the influence of certain drugs, he might have several times his normal strength thereby requiring several team members to physically restrain and overpower him. He might then be further restrained such as by confinement to a chair or otherwise controlled, such as by isolation or special restraint devices.
However, if the inmate sees members of the team outside of the door, he might behave irrationally, such as by inflicting harm to himself or to another person. If he had fashioned a stabbing instrument from some object in his cell, it can be appreciated how volatile such a situation could be.
The team, ideally, must enter the cell using the element of surprise. This is the most likely approach to prevent further injury from occurring. But it also causes a serious problem. If the door window is occluded, the team members do not know the status of the occupants in the cell. A violent inmate might be standing beside the cell door with a stabbing instrument ready to inflict harm to the first person to open the door.
It is therefore important for the team members to know the status in the cell before they enter without alerting the inmate that they are about to enter, so as to avoid exacerbating the situation.
Typically under such circumstances, one team member carries a video camera to video-tape entry into the cell and the steps taken by the other workers to subdue the inmate. This is done so as to obtain evidence of the reasonable use of force, thereby preventing the filing of future lawsuits.
Such video-taping cannot occur until the cell door has been opened. It would be advantageous to begin video-taping of the cell environment prior to entry so that justification for the entry can be demonstrated, again for purposes of demonstrating reasonable and responsible actions by those people who are held responsible for the well being of the inmates.
Also, while it is advantageous for even one of the workers to ascertain cell status prior to entry (as he can communicate this to others), it is especially desirable for all of the workers to have this awareness. This is because conditions in the cell can change quickly and so a rapid response is often required. In other words, sometimes there might not be sufficient time available to brief all of the remaining team members prior to entry.
One might think that a simple two-way mirror provides a complete solution. It does not. Two-way mirrors require at least a five to one differential in brightness to work. In other words, ideally it must be about five times brighter in the cell than outside for a two-way mirror to work. While this condition can readily be created in special interrogation rooms, it rarely is the situation in places of confinement.
Aside from special lighting considerations, two-way mirrors are expensive. It simply is impractical to consider using them for all of the cell windows. Furthermore, if the inmate is behaving in an acceptable fashion it is desirable to allow him or her to look out through the cell window. Only when dealing with a problem inmate is it necessary to occlude his vision from the cell while permitting those responsible for his well being to monitor him from outside the cell.
Accordingly there exists today a need for a Confinement-Cell Window Attachment that is detachably attachable about a cell window and which allows for ascertaining of the status within a cell without alerting an inmate as to when he is being monitored.
Clearly, such an apparatus is a useful and desirable device.
2. Description of Prior Art
Special windows are, in general, known. For example, the use of two-way mirrors is well known. Certain window treatments are also known such as blinds or window shades.
While the structural arrangements of the above described devices, at first appearance, have similarities with the present invention, they differ in material respects. These differences, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, are essential for the effective use of the invention and which admit of the advantages that are not available with the prior devices.